Cam actuated switch mechanism employing meshing driving gears



March 8, 1966 J. F. MARQUIS CAM ACTUATED SWITCH MECHANISM EMPLOYING MESHING DRIVING GEARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 19, 1964 I NVEN TOR. jl Zrzhjyargzwi March 8, 1966 J. F. MARQUIS CAM ACTUATED SWITCH MECHANISM EMPLOYING MESHING DRIVING GEARS Filed Feb 19, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Jiirffzflfarggm BY X1 r/r IIIIIF United States Patent 3,239,613 CAM ACTUATED SWITCH MECHANISM EM- PLOYIN G MESHING DRIVING GEARS John Firth Marquis, St. Charles, 111., assignor to Furnas Electric Company, Batavia, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 19, 1964, Ser. No. 345,953 9 Claims. (Cl. 20018) The invention relates to limit switches and has more particular reference to rotating switch mechanism wherein a plurality of limit switches may be cam actuated simultaneously or in any particular sequence as determined by a pre-adjustment of the camming members.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of a rotating limit switch mechanism having a rotating cam member for each of the limit switches, and wherein the cam members are driven simultaneously and in unison for camming and actuating the respective limit switch associated with the cam member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a limit switch of the type as described which will mount a plurality of individual limit switches so that the individual driving and camming gear combination for each switch can be rotated from the same rotatable driving shaft and wherein the camming gear of each combination is releasably fixed to its driving gear to permit adjustment of the camming action of the particular part.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide switch mechanism of the character described wherein the driving and camming gear combinations are supported for rotation on a free floating plate to permit the proper meshing of the driving gears and also the meshing of the gears of the worm drive which operatively connect the rotatable drive shaft with a certain one of the driving and camming gear combinations.

A further object is to provide a rotating limit switch having a plurality of limit switches actuated respectively by an independently adjustable camming gear and wherein each camming gear is rotated by a driving gear having meshing relation with the driving gear of at least two adjacent driving and camming gear combinations.

With these and various other objects in View, the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawings and claims appended thereto.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the device and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view, with cover removed, of a rotating limit switch embodying features of the present invention and which shows the meshing relation of the driving and camming gear combinations for four associated limit switches;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, the supporting plate for the limit switches being removed to better show the driving and camming gear combinations;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIGURE 2 and which shows in detail the worm drive between the rotatable shaft and one of the driving and camming gear combinations;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 55 of FIGURE 3 showing details of the driving and camming gear combination which is operatively connected by the worm drive to the rotatable shaft; and

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view taken longi- 3,239,613 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 tudinally of one of the limit switches shown in FIG- URE 1.

The metal housing 10 of the switch mechanism selected for illustrating the present invention journals the rotatable drive shaft 11 which imparts the desired rotation to a plurality of camming members for respectively actuating individual limit switches having operative association with the camming members. The housing 10 consists of the base 12 having upstanding side walls 13, 14, 15 and 16. The side walls are adapted to receive a cover plate, not shown. The exterior lug portions 17 are formed integral with the base and side walls and each lug portion is provided with an opening 18 for receiving a screw or the like for securing the housing to a support, such as a table or a platform. Within the housing and also integral with the base and side walls are four supporting ledges 20, a ledge extending inwardly from each corner of the housing. Additional ledges 21 are provided at two of the corners as shown in FIGURE 3. The ledges 21 have a height greater than the ledges 20. The securing ledges 22 which are formed on the side walls 14 and 16 have the same height as the ledges 21, and each ledge 22 is provided with a threaded opening for receiving a screw or the like for purposes which will be understood as the description proceeds.

The drive shaft 11 is journalled by the housing 10, as best shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, by means of the spaced bearings 23 and 24 which are respectively mounted in the cylindrical formations 25 and 26 formed integral with the base 12 of the housing. A worm pinion 27 is fixed to drive shaft 11 between the cylindrical formations and the worm pinion has meshing relation with the worm gear 28. The worm gear is fixed to the stud shaft 30, FIGURE 5, which is supported for rotation at one end thereof by the bearing formation 31 integral with the base 12. The gear 28 has a formation for supporting one of the combinations for actuating one of the limit switches. The said combination includes the driving gear 32 and the camming gear 33. Said driving and camming gear combination, and also the other combinations to be presently described, are supported on the floating plate 34, which plate in turn rests on the four ledges 20. The driving gear 32 is fixed to gear 28 by the securing screws 35, and the camming gear 33 is secured to the driving gear 32 in the desired rotative position by the single securing screw 36. The camming gear 33 is provided on its exposed surface with the cam formation 37.

The drive from the rotatable shaft 11 accordingly takes place through the worm pinion 27 and the worm gear 28 to the driving gear 32. The caming gear 33 rotates with the gear 32 since it is fixed thereto by the securing screw 36. It will be observed that the opening 38 in the plate 34 is larger than the hub of gear 28. This provides clearance so that relative movement can take place between the driving and camming gear combination and the plate 34, which plate has been described as floating since it merely rests on the supporting ledges 20. This constructional feature enables the gear 28 to mesh with the worm pinion 27 which has a fixed relation with the housing and the said construction also enables the driv ing gear 32 to mesh with the driving gears of the other combinations which will now be described.

The plate 34 supports three additional driving and camming gear combinations for rotation as shown in FIGURE 3, and wherein it will be observed that the driving gear of each combination has meshing relation with the driving gear of the two combinations disposed adjacent thereto. For example, the driving gear 32 meshes with driving gears 40 and 44, the former having the camming gear 41 adjustably fixed thereto by the single securing screw 42 and the latter having the camming gear 45 adjustably secured thereto by the single securing screw 46. Camming gear 41 is provided with the cam portion 43, whereas the camming gear 44 has a similar cam portion 47. The fourth driving and camming gear combination consists of the driving gear 48 to which is adjustably fixed the camming gear 50 by means of the single securing screw 51. A camming portion 52 is provided on the gear 50.

Each driving gear and the camming gear secured thereto comprise a unit which is supported for rotation on the floating plate 34. The supporting function of the plate for each driving and camming gear combination is shown in FIGURE 2. The plate is provided with an opening for receiving a depending locating stud such as 53 for one of the units. The other units each have a similar locating stud and which is received in an opening in the plate for locating and positioning the units as shown in FIG- URE 3, whereby the units will rotate simultaneously and to a like extent when the shaft 11 is rotated.

Since each driving gear has meshing relation with the two driving gears adjacent thereto, the driving impulse to each gear is a dual one. Thus the driving gear 44 and its camming gear 45 are driven by the gear 32 and also by the gear 48. Dual driving impulses are supplied in a similar manner to the other driving and camming gear combinations.

A limit switch such as indicated in its entirety by numeral 55, FIGURE 6, is operatively associated with each camming gear and the switches are fixed to and supported by a plate 56. Said plate has a central opening 57 and the plate rests on the ledges 21 and 22, being fixed in position on said ledges by the screws 58. The limit switches are conventional in construction and in operation. One or more circuits may be controlled by each switch and the action may be of the snap acting toggle type, or the usual spring pressure may be employed. In any event each switch provides a push button 66 which depends from its bottom wall and extends through an opening 61 provided therefor in the plate 56. The housing of each switch is fixed in desired position on the plate 56 by the securing screws 62 and each housing includes the terminals 63, 64 and 65, 66. The circuits to be controlled by the switch are electrically connected to the terminals by terminal screws such as 67. The terminals 63, 64 are electrically connected to bottom contacts 70, 71, whereas the terminals 65, 66 have connection to the top contacts 72 and 73. The cross arm 74 fixed to the push button 60 has a location between the sets of contacts so that when the push button is in down position the contacts 70 and 71 are closed, and contacts 72 and '73 are closed when the push button is in up position. The coil spring 75 normally maintains the push button in down position. However, when the push button is cammed by one of the cam portions such as 37, the push button is elevated and the top contacts 72 and 73 are closed with the bottom contacts 70 and 71 being moved into an open position.

The limit switch is so located on plate 56 that its push button is actuated by the camming gear 33 having the camming portion 37. The limit switch indicated in its entirety by numeral 76 is so located on plate 56 that it is actuated by the camming portion 47 of camming gear 45. The limit switch 77 is actuated by the camming portion 52 of the camming gear 50 and the limit switch 78 is actuated by the camming portion 43 of the camming gear 41. The direction of rotation of the driving and camming gear combinations can be clockwise or counter-clockwise. The limit switches can be actuated at the same time or in any desired sequence. In order to adjust the position of the camming gear with respect to its driving gear, it is only necessary to release the single securing screw such as 36, 46, 51 or 42, and the camming gear can then be rotated to the position desired. To facilitate such rotation of the camming gears for adjustment purposes the opening 57 is provided in the plate 56 and thus the operator can index the camming gears by using a screw driver or similar tool, for which purpose the periphery of the members are formed to simulate a gear. When the desired adjustment has been achieved, the parts are securely locked by tightening the single screw, namely 36, 46, etc. To aid the operator in adjusting the camming gears, the opening 57 is so shaped as to include notches 59. Also, the camming gears each have an indicating line 68 thereon and which is located on the camming gear generally opposite the camming portion on the gear. In all cases the notch and the indicating line for each of the limit switches are so arranged that the switch is actuated when the indicating line on its camming gear comes into view between the edges of its particular notch. As a result, the operator can easily adjust the limit switches using the indicating lines and the notches as a guide.

The floating plate 34 supports three of the driving and camming units so as to permit rotation thereof and the said units are precisely located and positioned on the plate by the openings formed in the plate for receiving the depending stud 53 of the respective units. Thus the driving gears 40, 48 and 44 will have meshing relation as shown in FIGURE 3. The fourth driving and camming unit has a fixed location as regards the housing, since it is supported for rotation by the shaft 30 which is journalled for rotation by the formation 31. A fixed relation between the worm pinion 27 and the gear 28 is required, since these parts must mesh to complete the drive to the several units. The fact that the plate 34 is floating and since the opening 38 is sufiiciently large, it is possible to effect a meshing relation of driving gear 32 with gears 46 and 44 so that all four driving gears will be operatively connected to produce the desired rotation of the camming gears for the purposes described.

The invention is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawings, as various other forms of the device will, of course, be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In svw'tch mechanism of the character described, in combination, a housing journalling a drive shaft, a plate supported by the housing above the drive shaft, a plurali=ty of driving and camming gear units mounted for rotation on the said plate, each of said units including a driving gear and a cam-ming member having a fixed relation on the gear, the driving gear of each unit having meshing relation with the driving gear of two adjacent units, a second plate supported by the housing above the driving and camming gear units, a plurality of switch devices in fixed position on the second plate and corresponding in number to the said units, each of said switch devices providing an actuating member in the path of one of said units for actuation by the camming menrber thereof, and means operatively connecting the driving gear of one of said units with the drive shaft.

2. Switch mechanism as defined by claim 1, wherein the first mentioned plate is merely supported by the housing with freedom of bodily movement in a plane approximately parallel to the axis of the drive shaft, and means for fixedly securing the second plate to the housing.

3. In switch mechanism of the character described, in combination, a housing journalling a drive shaft, a plate supported by the housing above the drive shaft, a plurality of driving and camming gear units mounted for rotation on said plate, each of said units including a driving gear and a camming member releasably fixed in adjusted position on the gear, the driving gear of each unit having meshing relation with the driving gear of two adjacent units, a second plate supported by the housing above the driving and camming gear units, a plurality of switch devices in fixed position on the second plate and corresponding in number to the said units, each of said switch devices providing an actuating member in the path of one of said units for actuation by the camming member thereof, and gear means operatively connecting the driving gear of one of said units with the drive shaft.

4. Switch mechanism as defined by claim 3, wherein the first mentioned plate is merely supported by the housing with freedom of bodily movement in a plane approximately parallel to the axis of the drive shaft, and means for fixedly securing the second plate to the housing.

5. In switch mechanism of the character described, in combination, a housing journalling a drive shaft, a plate merely supported by the housing above the drive shaft and thus capable of movement bodily in a plane parallel to the drive shaft, a plurality of driving and camming gear units mounted for rotation on the said plate, each of said units including a driving gear, means operatively connecting one of the driving gears with the said drive shaft, coacting means between the plate and the remaining driving gears for precisely locating the gears to effect meshing relation of one driving gear with another driving gear, the said one of the driving gears being so supported by the plate as to permit relative movement between the gear and plate in said plane, the said one of the driving gears having meshing relation with the driving gears of two of said units and whereby said meshing relation is facilitated by the relative movement provided for between the plate and the said one of the driving gears.

6. Switch mechanism of the character as defined by claim 5, wherein each unit additionally includes a camming member having a fixed relation on the driving gear thereof, a second plate fixedly supported by the housing above the driving and camming gear units, a plurality of switch devices corresponding in number to the units and each being supported in fixed position on the second plate, and an actuating member provided by each switch device and disposed in the path of a camming member for actuation thereby.

7. In switch mechanism of the character described, in combination, a housing journalling a drive shaft, a floating plate supported by the housing above the drive shaft and thus capable of movement bodily in a plane parallel to the drive shaft, a plurality of driving and camming gear units mounted for rotation on said plate, said units comprising a first, a second and a third unit with each consisting of a driving gear in meshing relation with the driving gear of another unit and a camming member in a predetermined rotative position on its driving gear, a fourth driving and camming gear unit having the driving gear thereof supported by the plate in a manner permitting relative movement between the driving gear and the plate, said driving gear having meshing relation with the driving gears of said first and third units and which is facilitated by the floating plate and by the relative movement provided for between the plate and the said driving gear, a second plate fixedly supported by the housing above the driving and camming gear units, a plurality of switch devices corresponding in number to the units and each being supported in fixed position on the second plate, an actuating member provided by each switch device and disposed in the path of its respective camming member for actuation thereby, and means operatively connecting the drive shaft with the said driving gear of the fourth unit.

8. In switch mechanism of the character described, in combination, a housing journalling a drive shaft, a plate supported by the housing above the drive shaft, a plurality of driving and camming gear units mounted for rotation on said plate, each of said units including a driving gear and a camming member releasably fixed in adjusted position on the gear, the driving gear of each unit having meshing relation with the driving gear of two adjacent units, a second plate supported by the housing above the driving and camming gear units, a plurality of switch devices in fixed position on the second plate and corresponding in number to the said units, each of said switch devices providing an actuating member in the path of one of said units for actuation by the camming member thereof, gear means operatively connecting the drawing gear of one of said units with the drive shaft, an indicating line on each of said camming members, and said second plate having an opening approximately centrally thereof for rendering the indicating lines visible for a portion of each revolution in the rotation of the camming members.

9. In switch mechanism of the character described, in combination, a housing journalling a drive shaft, a plate supported by the housing above the drive shaft, a plurality of driving and camming gear units mounted for rotation on said .plate, each of said units including a driving gear and a camming member positioned on the driving gear in concentric relation therewith, said camming member having a projecting camming portion thereon, means for releasa-bly securing the camming member to its driving gear with the camming portion thereof in a selected position, the driving gear on each unit having meshing relation with the driving gear of two adjacent units, a second plate supported by the housing above the driving and camming gear units, a plurality of switch devices in fixed position on the second plate and corresponding in number to the said units, each of said switch devices providing an actuating member in the path of one of said units for actuation by the camming member thereof, gear means operatively connecting the driving gear of one of the units with the drive shaft, an indicating line on each camming member in predetermined angular position with respect to the camming portion thereof, and said second plate having an opening approximately centrally of the plate for rendering visible the indicating lines for a portion of each revolution in the rotation of the camming members, said opening providing a notch for each camming member whereby the indicating lines respectively can be visually aligned with its particular notch for adjusting the position of each camming member on its driving gear.

References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,358,568 9/1944 Furnas. 2,513,695 7/ 1950 Van Valkenburg. 2,687,458 8/1954 Cobb et al.

KATHLEEN H. CLAFFY, Primary Examiner. ROBERT K. SCI-IAEFER, Examiner. 

1. IN SWITCH MECHANISM OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, IN COMBINATION, A HOUSING JOURNALLING A DRIVE SHAFT, A PLATE SUPPORTED BY THE HOUSING ABOVE THE DRIVE SHAFT, A PLURALITY OF DRIVING AND CAMMING GEAR UNITS MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ON THE SAID PLATE, EACH OF SAID UNITS INCLUDING A DRIVING GEAR AND A CAMMING MEMBER HAVING A FIXED RELATION ON THE GEAR, THE DRIVING GEAR OF EACH UNIT HAVING MESHING RELATION WITH THE DRIVING GEAR OF TWO ADJACENT UNITS, A SECOND PLATE SUPPORTED BY THE HOUSING ABOVE THE DRIVING AND CAMMING GEAR UNITS, A PLURALITY OF SWITCH DE- 